Badgers tip off exhibition play tonight

The 3rd-ranked Wisconsin Badger mens basketball team tips off exhibition play tonight against division-2 UW-Parkside at the Kohl Center (7pm).

Wisconsin has faced Parkside just once before in exhibition play, earning an 81-42 win over the Rangers back on Nov. 10, 2004.

The Badgers are coming off a 30-win season, just their third in team history. They advanced to the NCAA Final Four where they fell to Kentucky 74-73 in the 2014 National Semifinal game.

In addition to the trip to the 2014 Final Four, the Badgers went 13-5 against teams in the NCAA tournament field, finished 8-2 against teams in the AP top 25, finished 17-1 outside the Big Ten, finished 16-5 away from the Kohl Center and had wins over seven conference champions (Arizona, Virginia, Florida, Michigan, Saint Louis, Green Bay and Eastern Kentucky.

Wisconsin returns seven of its eight top scorers from last season, including preseason All-Americans Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker.